Carmen Cid

Dr. Carmen R. Cid is the dean of Arts and Sciences at Eastern Connecticut State University and has 31 years of experience in higher education. As a forest and wetland ecologist, she is best known for the award-winning Project Wonderwise “The Urban Ecologist” multimedia curriculum, now used in 27 states and Canada in public school and after-school programming, and an integral part of the national USDA 4-H curriculum. In the 1990’s she became acquainted with the wonderful science education opportunities at Talcott Mountain Science Center through her participation in the Project Promise educational outreach program. In 1991, she established the Women and Minorities Committee of the Ecological Society of America and helped develop the first ecology education and human resources strategic plan for ESA.  In November 2020, the national Ecological Society of America (ESA) named Cid as its vice president for education and human resources.

She has received various awards for her work in many national programs to improve recruitment, retention and career development for women and minorities in the sciences, including the Connecticut Latina Citizen of the Year 2012 award, the Ecological Society of America 2012 Diversity Award and as one of 2013 Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame Honorees. Recently, she finished a four-year project as Co-Principal Investigator to the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences’ NSF-ADVANCE grant to infuse gender equity training in mentoring programs for deans and department chairs. She promotes support for children and families to enhance their educational opportunities as Vice-President for the Fund for Greater Hartford, and helps promote best healthcare practices on the East Regional Board of Directors of Hartford Healthcare.